Out with the old… in with new, old…

I’m sure I’m not the only one who wants and enjoys the *fresh* start that comes with January. Everything seems to be clean and ready for a new beginning.
Decorations are taken down, house has been cleaned from the rearranging…
I feel that I’m ready to take the bull by the horns, so to speak and give things a try.

So, what I’m getting at is this…
A while back I was much more disciplined than I have been recently.
I have allowed ease to run back into our lifestyle and I believe my family’s health has suffered.

So today as everything is being cleaned up from our trip (I will tell you about that soon!!) and our lives are switching back into gear, I am putting on a big pot of homemade soup and some crusty bread for our supper.

Have I ever told you how I make my potato soup?
Let’s talk about it…
it’s so warm, yummy and is a favorite of our family.

Start off with about a half pound of bacon and a chopped onion.
Put it in the stock pot or dutch oven and cook til bacon is done and onion is translucent.
Meanwhile, chop up about 8 medium/large potatoes.
Once bacon was cooked I took about a pint of home-canned chicken stock and used it to scrape up all the goodness off the bottom of my pan. I added my potatoes and then coved with milk.
Let that cook slowly until potatoes are cooked tender.
Now is where you can stick with what you have or ‘doctor’ it up as we say.
I like to mash my potatoes up a bit and then I add some creamed corn, about 2 tablespoons of garlic powder and onion powder.
I add about a cup of cream at the very end.
Mix it all up well, taste and add your salt and pepper.
Serve with crusty bread or some yummy cornbread. We like BOTH!
You can even throw on some shredded cheese. Mmmm

Isn’t my pot lovely? It was a Christmas gift and I LOVE it!!!

Bread on the rise… one of my favorite things! 🙂

What are the things I am wanting to get back to or begin?

• Staying away from the grocery store. I want to make, grow or produce as much as I can around here. What I can’t I hope to buy in bulk from a local farmer or from a dependable, sustainable source. 
• I want to be careful of how we spend the money my husband earns…
• I want to make sure we include our kids in what we do. Making sure they know why we may stray from the conventional and teach them to enjoy and respect farming.
• Our root cellar is needing some attention. I hope to fix it and then stock it WELL!
• I hope to mend our fences, and make our barnyard a nicer place to be for our animals.
• I would love to build a small barn.
• I want to at least double our garden this year, growing a bigger variety of vegetables and learning how to preserve them all as much as possible.
• I want to lose about 10 lbs a month. I think that seems doable. I plan on doing that by cutting down my calorie intake, being more active and saying no to soft drinks and seconds!

Have a great new year my friends!